Celebrity Gossip, Humor, Entertainment, Hollywood UK news

Cinematical is reporting that, despite still-present trailers and advertisements promoting an August 3rd release, Charlie Bartlett is being pulled from the date and that the studio is looking for better placement. The studio claims the pull has to do with “today’s overwhelmingly competitive market,” which is obvious due to the opposition the pic would see from the likes of The Bourne Ultimatum and Hot Rod, but others believe it may also be tied to the pic earning an “R” rating, placing it out of its core audience’s reach.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix remained on the top of the international box office this past weekend with an impressive draw of $100.8 million. That number makes Potter only the third film ever to draw over $100 million its second week on the international charts. The number also boosts the pics total to over $558 million worldwide, good enough for 40th on the list of top-grossing films worldwide. The film, the fifth in the series, may see another boost this week, as hype surrounding the franchise is further bolstered by Saturday’s release of the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Steven Spielberg and David Geffen may walk away from Paramount in 15 months, taking only their corporate name with them. DreamWorks was founded by Spielberg, Geffen, and Jeffrey Kratzenberg, but was later acquired by Paramount. Indeed, Sumner Redstone, head of Viacom — Paramount’s parent company — is said to be a lightning rod in the relationship, which many have noted as deteriorating. Not surprisingly, Redstone seem to be quite difficult — just ask his daughter, Shari, whom is about to end up in a legal battle with her father. Geffen has claimed that things are not as bad as they seem, however, insisting that “Steven and I are very happy with the performance of Paramount’s marketing and distribution teams in handling our films.”

Twentieth Century Fox has tapped Academy Award-winning director Gavid Hood to helm its first X-Men spin-off, Wolverine. Hugh Jackman, who played the character in all three X-Men films, is set to reprise his role in the pic, which is scripted by David Benioff. The story is part action, part origin story — but it remains to be revealed how the film will handle Logan’s origins, since much of that material was covered, and indeed was essential to, the main plot of X2. “I have long been a fan of Gavin’s work and know he will make a masterful film with the character intensity and action beats the fans expect,” said Jackman. Pic is set for a 2008 release.

This sounds almost too good to be true. Benicio Del Toro is set to play Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara in an upcoming film, Telecinco Cinema has announced. The film, which Del Toro’s website says is named Guerilla, will be directed by Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh and Del Toro previously worked together on Traffic, for which Del Toro won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a Mexican police officer. Excellent.

An interesting article from the AP today asks the oft-thought question, “How Many Sequels are too many?” The report notes that a still-undetermined number of Spider-Man movies are still on their way, an eleventh Star Trek is in production, and Jeffrey Kratzenberg recently revealed that Shrek will see both a fourth and fifth installment. “In such a crowded marketplace, being able to break through the clutter is half the battle,” said Tom Ortenberg, president of Lions Gate. “Sequels, already branded, make it that much easier to break through that clutter with a title that is already familiar to consumers.” For the movie goers’ sake, let’s hope that we get some fresh franchises — and soon.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Knocked Up lead Seth Rogen has signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to write and likely star in The Green Hornet. LATimes reports that the film “follows the adventures of Brit Reid. A wealthy publisher of The Daily Sentinel by day, Reid roams as a masked crime fighter by night, dedicated to protecting the lives and rights of the city’s citizens. Reid is accompanied by Kato, a chauffeur-bodyguard-personal assistant during business hours who transforms into a masked sidekick with a knack for martial arts when the sun goes down. The two cruise around town in a dark sedan known as the Black Beauty.” Sony is said to be eyeing a 2009 release for the film.

Daniel Craig, speaking with Interview Magazine, has revealed that the next Bond is going to be funnier, for better or worse. “They [Eon Productions] just want more gags. The next one’s going to be a lot funnier. Octopussy and Pussy Galore style gags. They’re all great names — but that’s the thing, the Bond jokes will be flipped on their heads,” Craig revealed. While this news may be disconcerting for those that enjoyed the gritty, violent nature of Craig’s first round as Bond in Casino Royale, the good news is that script writer Paul Haggis, and director Marc Forester, are both on board for Bond 22. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures has already slated Bond 23 for a 2010 release, which will be the last Bond adventure covered by Craig’s current contract.